Spinning an Indian yarn

Boutique, Indian-origin brands are weaving a new fashion tale overseas.

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Prachi Bhuchar

March 30, 2018

ISSUE DATE: April 9, 2018

UPDATED: March 30, 2018 14:05 IST

Neishaa Gharat loves the breadth of Indian textiles and fashions them to suit English sensibilities.

There's a common, Indian thread binding these designers, these
collectors and curators of Indian accents that are unspooled over cups
of kadak chaiserved with hot scones dotted with clotted cream. London
has always been the playground of the rich and famous and over the
years, as many Indians made this city their home, they began mapping
their migrant journey in a novel way. London-based Varana, House of
Gharats and Ekta Kaul are English in their sensibility but Indian in
their execution of the modern narrative. Their clothes and accessories
celebrate where they come from but are not hung up on showcasing the
country in the same tired fashion, using bling as the easiest tool of
seduction. Similarly, Alpana Bawa is a design entrepreneur whose store
in New York has been popular for three decades now. Often referred to as the queen of colour, her clothes and accessories are often inspired by
India yet reflect a refined, urban sensibility. These designers are
giving the 'made in India' tag a new impetus as they chart a new course
for Indian fashion.

House of Gharats

Founder, Neishaa Gharat, 42

House of Gharats was born out of the love of living an artful life with
purpose and is a design house fusing cultures and blurring the lines
between art and fashion, producing a delightful approach to everyday
dressing and living. The designs are timeless objects that can be passed down the generations. Founder and designer Neishaa Gharat says, "Today, being a designer is allencompassing, from being a voice for Indian
crafts globally to designing for House of Gharats collections, to
designing for social change and creating a sustainable future for
craftsmen." Her first collection was called Uprooted, where she
expressed her notions of living in a globalised world while still
feeling rooted through her work.

USP "Textiles is where
our story begins; that for me has been amazing in terms of bringing
together of different people and cultural contexts, all unified through
the language of textiles," says Gharat. Design with purpose motivates
the brand and there is an attempt to create pieces that tell a story.Product Range "We work with crafts that are living traditions. We wish to bring the focus back to the makers and the skills. Our designs tell a story
of interweaving of cultures and social changes. It's a fascinating
intersection of design, culture, craft and technology," says Gharat. The brand produces a range of ready-to-wear and accessories for both men
and women, tableware, textiles and jewels, all made using traditional
Indian skills.

The Inspiration "In today's globalised
market I am fascinated by the interplay of my janmabhoomiand
karmabhoomi. The traditional uncut cloth, the saree, has always
fascinated me for its timeless beauty and I am keen that we continue to
revel in this rich textile heritage of India but find new expressions. I am finding my own story through the myriad global design influences,
living in London and constantly exploring my Indian roots."

Design Aesthetic The clothes are somewhere between classic and nonconformist and there
is an undeniable appreciation for tradition. The Indian influence can be felt through the designs and choice of textiles.

At www.houseofgharats.com

Ekta Kaul

Founder, Ekta Kaul, 41

The eponymous brand, Ekta Kaul, is an assimilation of Kaul's Indian
heritage and British training. She studied at the National Institute of
Design (NID) and came to the UK more than a decade ago after winning two British Council scholarships to study textiles. She set up her business after graduating with help from the UK's Craft Council award 'Next
Move' which is awarded to just eight businesses across England and
Wales. She set up her studio in 2008 and since then, her work has shown
at some of the most respected galleries and stores in the UK and the US
including The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts, Designers Guild, and Museum of Art and Design NYC among others. Kaul was nominated for
the Arts Foundation Fellowship in 2010.

USP The textiles
she uses are imbued with character, speak of exquisite hand
craftsmanship, simplicity and timeless design. Bold colours, graphic
compositions and careful attention to details are some of the hallmarks. Kaul works with ethical partners in India and the UK, and uses only
natural fibres. The aesthetic is contemporary yet timeless.

Indian Connect "India's breadth of textile traditions and hand skills is unparalleled. I feel
lucky to have been born in a country where beautiful textiles are
omnipresent and are integral part of life. The Indian tradition of
passing on textiles from one generation to the next has had a profound
impact on my approach to design," says Kaul. As a result, her products
are unique in that in every single scarf, throw, quilt uses the best
materials. She adds, "We work with small fair trade workshops in India
for making our bigger collections. Bespoke textiles are made at our
London studio."

Selling Stories StoryMaps is based on
personal narratives and includes scarves and stoles. The maps are made
to order. "I personalise maps of cities and embroider them with
architectural icons, cartographic elements that are part of someone's
personal history," says Kaul. Textured silks, fine wools and soft
cashmeres are embroidered, hand-dyed and printed in simple graphic
compositions at the studio as well.

At www.ektakaul.com

Sujata Keshavan wants the world to acknowledge that India too can produce a luxury design label.

Varana

Founder, Sujata Keshavan, 56

The absence of a global luxury brand from India made Sujata Keshavan, one
of the most accomplished and respected figures in design, start Varana,
an international apparel brand which takes the best of India's rich and
vast textile tradition and marries it with Western contemporary style.
For Keshavan, who quit the top design firm Ray Keshavan in 2015, there
couldn't be a better time to unveil Varana, which launched with a 4,350
sq ft space in Dover Street, London last year.

Made in India "India's importance and role in the world is improving," says Keshavan, adding that "There has been a perception that Made in India is
medium-quality at best. We want to demonstrate that it can be fabulous." At Varana top notch design and quality finish are given equal emphasis.

Design Mantra All of Varana's products come out of its factory in Bangalore. Its
design team includes a fashion designer from Italy, a pattern cutter
from France, a Japanese knitwear designer and embroidery units in
Bangalore. Craftsman from across India are roped in to create colours,
fabrics and patterns that wow an international clientele. "We are
rendering amazing techniques and vocabulary of motifs in a way that
hasn't been done before," says Keshavan. In its maiden Taj collection,
techniques such as wood block printing and aariand Jamdani embroidery
were used. Keshavan remains hopeful that Varana will be one of the many
means to ensure that India's handicraft tradition doesn't die.

For Keshavan who has earned plaudits for giving consumer brands like
Himalaya a new identity, Varana is fulfilling a dream of showcasing her
love for textiles. Keshavan, who has a special affinity for ikat ("It is
very modern, timeless and abstract"), can't wait to introduce customers
from other countries to many such crafts. Catering to the needs of
India, the inspiration, is also on her mind. She thinks that Delhi in
particular would love the cashmere collection.

At www.varanaworld.com

(By Suhani Singh)

Alpana Bawa with her partner Einar Eidsson at her New York store.

Alpana Bawa

Founder, Alpana Bawa, 57

If there is one colour that is verboten in this hue-happy fashion
designer's collections, it has got to be black. Alpana Bawa, 57, has her store in New York's NoLita area and has been here for over three
decades. The Indian-born, Delhi-raised designer went to Parsons School
of Design, New York, to study fashion in 1983 and soon after, set up her own store, churning out classic silhouettes. Bawa insists her
collections reflect a modern sensibility and cannot be pinned down as
merely Indian. The queen of colour always wanted to do things
differently and the fact that she is still sold out within days of new
collections coming to the store is proof enough that she has made her
mark in a city as whimsical as New York.

USP "Colour is my biggest selling point as it defines who I am. In the initial days I was not doing Indian-style embellishments but was really big on colour. For me, multicolour works best and there have to be a minimum of three-four colours for the balance to make sense," says Bawa. She works with
contemporary shapes, circles and cut outs and favours fabrics like
voiles, cottons and denims in summer as well as wool and neoprene in
winter as they work well given New York's climate and also appeal to the western sensibility.

Indian Influence While the initial years did see some strong Indian influences in the form of motifs and
fabrics, Bawa found herself experimenting with newer designs as her
brand evolved. She says, "Since I have grown up in India I can't escape the inspiration is in your blood. I don't see it as Indian but people
look at it there and say, it is Indian. Lots of people say my designs
are rooted in the 60s and 70s when colour was big."

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